Sixers Sign Shake Milton To Four-Year Deal
JULY 7: Milton’s new four-year contract with the Sixers is now official, the team announced today in a press release.
“Shake is the perfect example of what hard work and strong player development can produce,” GM Elton Brand said in a statement. “We are proud of the strides he made in the G League last season, where his game was able to blossom while gaining confidence as a pro. He has earned the right to be where he is today. He is an exciting young talent and I look forward to his continued development with the 76ers and the depth that he provides our roster.”
JULY 2: Shake Milton will sign a new contract with the Sixers. The team has agreed to a four-year deal with the shooting guard, according to ESPN’s Jordan Schultz (Twitter link).
Milton played last season on a two-way contract, splitting his time between the Sixers and their G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats. He saw limited playing time in 20 games for Philadelphia, but put up big numbers in 27 NBAGL contests, averaging 24.9 PPG, 4.9 APG, and 4.9 RPG with a .484/.369/.810 shooting line.
Because Milton’s two-way deal featured a second year, this transaction will technically be treated as a conversion from his two-way contract to an NBA contract, similar to Monte Morris‘ deal with the Nuggets last offseason.
The Sixers will have to use cap space to ink Milton to a four-year contract. There will also be no December 15 trade restriction for Milton, as two-way contract conversions don’t carry the same rules as most offseason NBA signings.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Warriors Agree To Acquire D’Angelo Russell Via Sign-And-Trade
JULY 1: The Warriors will send a future protected first-round pick to the Nets as part of the deal to help incentivize them to acquire Durant via sign-and-trade, tweets Wojnarowski.
JUNE 30: The Warriors are trading for D’Angelo Russell, Treveon Graham, and Shabazz Napier from the Nets, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (Twitter link). The move would be made via sign-and-trade in exchange for Kevin Durant.
Russell will receive a four-year, $117MM maximum salary contract, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link).
It was reported earlier today that the Warriors may have an interest in turning Durant’s departure into a sign-and-trade with the Nets. If they hadn’t taken back any salary in the deal, the Dubs could have created a $30MM trade exception. Instead, they’ll land one of the top restricted free agents on the market.
Brooklyn replaced Russell with Kyrie Irving at the point guard position and the franchise was said to be open to helping Russell find a new home of his choosing, even if it meant committing to a sign-and-trade. The Nets wouldn’t look to take salary back in most scenarios, but since they are getting Durant from Golden State, sending Russell there wouldn’t hinder their ability to sign their new stars.
Russell was said to be eyeing a possible move to Minnesota to team up with his close friend Karl-Anthony Towns. Perhaps that was before a deal in Golden State seemed like a feasible option.
The Warriors must stay below the tax apron, which is set at approximately $138.9MM, to remain eligible to accept a sign-and-trade. Doing so with Russell and Klay Thompson receiving maximum-salary deals will be extremely difficult, so another move or two is likely coming for Golden State. As Wojnarowski tweets, Andre Iguodala may have to be moved. Shaun Livingston also appears unlikely to be back.
[UPDATE: Warriors trading Iguodala to Grizzlies]
With Thompson expected to miss most or all of the 2019/20 season with a torn ACL, Russell figures to share the backcourt with Stephen Curry next season in a revamped Warriors lineup. It will be fascinating to see if the club plans to move forward and build around all three guards long-term once Thompson is healthy.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Bucks To Keep Pat Connaughton, Sterling Brown Past Guarantee Date
The Bucks plan on keeping Pat Connaughton and Sterling Brown on the roster through July 1 when each players’ contracts will become guaranteed, Matt Velazquez of the Journal Sentinel reports (Twitter link).
Connaughton will make slightly over $1.72MM while Brown will receive just under $1.62MM next season. Neither player’s contract runs past this upcoming season.
Milwaukee could have waived either player today and given themselves some minor cap relief. However, the franchise had no need for the additional cap room after re-signing both Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez earlier today.
Connaughton and Brown project to be low-cost rotation players next season before they reach the open market in 2020. Connaughton will be an unrestricted free agent next summer, while Brown can be restricted.
Sixers, Heat Search For New Team To Join Jimmy Butler Sign-And-Trade
The Heat are still working on options to complete the Jimmy Butler sign-and-trade with the Sixers, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The two sides will search for a third team to take on additional salary from Miami, as Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets.
[RELATED: Heat Finalizing Sign-And-Trade For Jimmy Butler]
The Mavericks appeared to be the team willing to take on salary in order to help both teams complete the trade. It was reported that Goran Dragic would be sent to Dallas as part of a three-team deal, but the Mavs then felt that Dragic’s salary would eat into their cap space and hinder their other plans.
Kelly Olynyk and Derrick Jones were believed to be taking Dragic’s place in the trade, but then it was revealed that the Heat did not want to part with Jones in the deal. The Olynyk/Jones combo wouldn’t have been quite enough from a salary-matching perspective anyway.
The Heat will look for a trade partner for Dragic out of respect for the veteran. The team and his representatives are working to find a deal by July 6. per Shelburne. However, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link) hears from Dragic’s camp that there is no joint effort yet to find him a suitor.
Dragic will make approximately $19.2MM next season. After a day of contract agreements, The Mavericks, Clippers, and Lakers are the only teams with the clear ability to absorb Dragic’s deal without sending salary back, though other teams could potentially create the necessary space.
It’s possible the Mavericks will change its stance again on Dragic once they have a clearer picture of who they can sign with their cap space, though that’s simply my speculation.
Assuming the two sides find a third team to make the sign-and-trade work, Josh Richardson will go to Philadelphia and Butler will begin the Miami chapter of his career on a four-year max deal.
Potential Mavs, Heat Trade Hits Snag
11:59pm: Tim Cato of The Athletic confirms (via Twitter) that the deal is off from the Mavs’ perspective. It’s up to the Heat to salvage the deal, possibly with another team, Cato adds.
As detailed below, Miami’s acquisition of Butler is dependent on the team being able to send salary to a third team, so it’s hard to imagine the Heat not figuring it out with some team, but they’re losing leverage and don’t have a ton of assets left to sweeten the deal.
10:21pm: There’s a “glitch” in the agreement between the Mavericks and Heat, according to Jared Weiss of The Athletic, who tweets that Miami is reluctant to part with Jones and Dallas is telling people that the deal is off.
The Mavericks maintain that they thought they were getting Olynyk and Jones in the deal, but the Heat don’t want to give up Jones and say they must part with Dragic to make the math work, tweets Stein. As noted below, the Heat would have to send out at least one more player to an Olynyk/Jones package to make the trade work financially.
There’s an expectation that the deal is far enough down the road that things will get ironed out, says Weiss. The Heat’s acquisition of Butler hinges on sending out other salaries, so Miami will be very motivated to get it done. However, as Nahmad points out (via Twitter), it will be tricky for the Heat to stay under the tax apron without moving bigger salaries.
10:01pm: The Mavericks and Heat have changed the framework on their part of the sign-and-trade deal that will send Butler to Miami, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter links). Rather than acquiring Dragic, Dallas will land Kelly Olynyk and Derrick Jones, Stein reports.
According to Stein, the Mavs are “huge fans” of Dragic, but didn’t want to surrender flexibility to make additional moves by acquiring his contract.
“In analyzing it, his salary was too high based on other things they’re trying to do,” Dragic’s agent Bill Duffy tells Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Due to the change, the Heat aren’t quite sending out enough salary to make the deal work, so another outgoing piece will be required, tweets cap expert Albert Nahmad.
8:42pm: Goran Dragic will become part of the Jimmy Butler sign-and-trade deal with the Heat sending the point guard to the Mavericks, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel tweets. No major compensation will head from Dallas to Miami, as Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News tweets. The Mavs will technically have to send something out and it will likely be cash or a heavily-protected first-round pick.
Miami is sending Josh Richardson to the Sixers in exchange for Butler, who will ink a four-year max deal with a starting salary of approximately $32.7MM. The Heat needed to send out additional salary as part of the agreement to make up for the gap between Richardson’s salary ($10.1MM) and Butler’s new starting salary.
The move to send Dragic to the Mavs had been speculated throughout the day with salary cap guru Albert Nahmad (Twitter link) among those reading the tea leaves. Dragic will join Rookie-of-the-Year award winner Luka Doncic in Dallas’ backcourt.
Knicks, Bobby Portis Agree To Two-Year Deal
The Knicks will add Bobby Portis on a two-year deal, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Portis will make $31MM over the length of the deal.
Washington is rescinding its qualifying offer for Portis, according to The Athletic’s Fred Katz (Twitter link). The move will allow him to sign with New York without the threat of Washington matching an offer sheet.
Portis re-signing with the Wizards was unlikely given his salary expectations. There was always a sense that Washington would have to choose him or Thomas Bryant when prioritizing a big man to re-sign. Bryant agreed to a three-year deal with the Wizards earlier in the day.
Portis and Jabari Parker came to the Wizards in the Otto Porter Jr. trade. Parker is also considered unlikely to return to the team.
New York has now agreed to deals with three power forwards. In addition to Portis, the team agreed to sign Julius Randle to a three-year, $63MM deal and Taj Gibson to a two-year, $20MM pact
The Knicks are projected to have approximately $27.5MM in cap room after today’s agreements, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets.
Knicks To Sign Taj Gibson
The Knicks have agreed to a deal with Taj Gibson, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com relays (Twitter link). The contract will be for two years and $20MM.
The 10-year veteran spent the last two seasons in Minnesota on a $28MM deal that the club signed him to during the summer of 2017. He played in all but 12 games for the Wolves over his two seasons with the team.
After the agreement, the Knicks are looking at approximately $41MM in cap room. It was previously announced that the team will ink Julius Randle to a three-year, $63MM pact.
Latest On Kevin Durant
The Knicks were not prepared to present Kevin Durant will a full-max contract offer, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com hears (Twitter link). Owner Jim Dolan had concerns about Durant’s Achilles injury.
New York now has Julius Randle locked in on a three-year deal. The Knicks were long rumored to be the favorite for Durant’s services, though rumblings began to surface during the postseason that the Nets were contenders. Durant will take his talents to the other side of the Williamsburg Bridge.
[RELATED: Kevin Durant To Sign With Nets]
Durant and his business manager Rich Kleiman met with the Warriors GM Bob Myers today and delivered his decision to leave Golden State, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com relays via Twitter. The remainder of the contenders were informed later on in the day and Woj adds that the teams feel Durant handled the process well.
Durant’s deal with the Nets could end up being a sign-and-trade, Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link).
There’s no word on whether the Warriors would want a player back or simply to open up a $30MM trade exception (as CBA rules state the amount would be his previous salary). Golden State could then absorb a player in a trade without having to worry about matching salary. Such an arrangement would likely involve the Warriors including an asset, as the Nets could easily carve out the required cap room to sign Durant outright.
Knicks To Sign Julius Randle To Three-Year, $63MM Deal
The Knicks have agreed to sign Julius Randle to a three-year, $63MM deal, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports (Twitter link).
Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports tweets that the final year of the pact contains a team option, while Steve Popper of Newsday (Twitter link) classifies it as a partial guarantee.
Rumors of the Knicks’ interest in Randle sprouted once the Pelicans landed Zion Williamson and it became clear that New Orleans wasn’t likely to compete for the big man’s services. Those rumors continued in the week leading up to free agency.
New York is expected to have $51M in cap room after the agreement, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). It’s unclear if which players they are targeting with their cap space. The Knicks missed out on their top target in Kevin Durant, watching the former MVP sign with the crosstown Knicks. Kyrie Irving is also headed to Brooklyn.
Randle had a breakout season during his lone year in New Orleans. He notched career-highs in points per game (21.4), 3-pointers made (nearly one per contest), and player efficiency rating (21.0).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Sixers Discussing Extension With Ben Simmons, Nuggets Begin Talks With Jamal Murray
The Sixers have begun contract extension talks with Ben Simmons and his agent Rich Paul, Adrian Wojnarowski of the ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Sham Charania of The Athletic tweets that the Nuggets have starting discussing an extension with Jamal Murray and his agent, Mike George of One Legacy.
Players from the 2016 draft class who remain on their original rookie deal are eligible to sign extensions this summer. Simmons was the No. 1 overall pick from the draft and Murray was the No. 7 overall selection.
Assuming a projected salary cap of $117MM for the 2020/21 season, the total max value of an extension for either player is approximately $170MM over five seasons.
Each player had arguably had their most successful campaign in 2018/19. Both the Nuggets and Sixers made it to the Game 7 of the second round of the playoffs, each falling in heartbreaking fashion.